Rocker James Durbin was sent home on “American Idol” last night, and he’s already wondering if it had to do with covering Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” the song that was also Chris Jericho’s swan song on this season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
“The last song that he danced to before his elimination was ‘Don’t Stop Believing.’ So ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ eliminated James Durbin, Chris Jericho and Tony Soprano,” James laughed during an “Idol” conference call with reporters on Friday.
Chris too noticed the spooky connection and Tweeted about it on Thursday evening.
“Fun Fact- Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin killed @iamjericho @JDurbinAI10 and Tony Soprano… Steve Perry is an assassin,” the wrestling star Tweeted.
“James’ downfall was the same as mine on DWTS. Journey is cursed,” he added.
James actually revealed on Friday during the call that he and Chris became friends during their time on their respective shows.
“We filmed at the same studio and that was really nice because I’ve been a wrestling fan since I was 12, so to get to hang out with him, we could talk about wrestling and talk about music,” James said. “He’s a singer in a metal band so it really worked out.”
Beyond his Journey connection with the “DWTS” eliminee, James admitted he was blindsided by the news he was going home when Ryan Seacrest delivered it on Thursday night’s “Idol.”
“I’m not gonna lie, I definitely was,” James said.
In fact, James’ elimination landed him in fourth place, the same spot Chris Daughtry ended with during Season 5, and while Daughtry did fine without the title, that wasn’t the Season 10’s contestant first realization on Thursday evening.
“Winning would have been just great too. I don’t know. When you’re up there and Ryan says you’re going home, first instinct is, ‘Gosh, I wanted to win so badly and it feels like I failed.’ But thinking about it, I haven’t failed at all, this is just the beginning,” James said.
James is already thinking ahead and told reporters that last night, he heard what could be his first post-“Idol” single.
Going forward, James said he expects that when he does release an album, it will reflect his hard rock influences.
“It definitely really has to have a real throw-back feel,” he said, referencing Dio’s “Holy Diver,” and Black Sabbath’s “Neon Knights.” “My guitarist is a total shredder and he’s amazing. It’s gonna be awesome and we’re gonna force it on the airwaves.”
Beyond his music, James has a wedding to plan for, to fiancee Heidi, and it appears that some of his “Idol” chums will be a part of the festivities.
“Stefano’s going to be best man at my wedding,” James said of Stefano Langone, another fellow Top 10 performer, adding that Paul McDonald will be one of his “groomsmen.”
While he was the first contestant to consistently bring a metal edge to “American Idol,” James was also the first Top 10 contender to share his story of having Aspergers.
“I’ve been looked at funny, who cares… I don’t care. I’m different, I’m a freak. Different is the new normal. If you’re not different, you’re not in,” James added.
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.